Building and Maintaining Consistency When Doubling

I've recently begun preparing music for four concerts between now and the end of June, and I'll be doing a lot of doubling. The first concert is only alto and sopranino recorder, the second is both recorders and flute. The third is going to be my first multiple woodwinds recital (piccolo, flute, clarinet, alto sax, and alto recorder) ever, and as the woodwinds professor at NSU.

The main concept I have to remind myself about - which is not earth-shattering - is that you must carry over as many concepts as possible when doubling. It's so easy to get wrapped up in the differences between instruments that basic concepts fall by the wayside.
Concepts like:
- consistent airflow
- swift, relaxed finger motion
- clarity in tone and articulation
- intonation

It's far too easy to let yourself think "Oh, I'm just running through this, I'll worry about intonation(tone/fingerings/etc.) later."

The issue here is that by allowing yourself to essentially drop your guard this one time you're setting yourself up for inconsistency in performance later, which is a much steeper price to pay than to just focus in on an issue when it springs up. I remember once when I was still in school I was playing clarinet in the pit for "Annie Get Your Gun." I hadn't prioritized clarinet, and wasn't practicing properly or enough. In the middle of the show one night I went to play an exposed solo - and completely blanked. I simply couldn't remember which key to press! If I had just been practicing the tiniest bit, I really doubt that would have happened.

If you're getting back into the routine of doubling, try this:
Set aside some time *before* your practice session starts to plan out your practice session. Incorporate some time to work on fundamentals (tone, articulation, scales) before delving into repertoire. I also strongly recommend that you work toward a "standard warm-up" for each instrument. Whenever I practice other woodwinds, I start my practice the same way and it always helps me "settle" into the new horn quickly and easily. Even something as simple as five minutes at the beginning of a session will an immediate impact on your practice session and, perhaps more importantly, will set you up for long term success.

Woodwind Imposter Syndrome

This post was inspired by a reader who wrote in:

“[A]s I've started to build whatever career I have at the moment, I've [been] getting calls for musicals. The one I'm currently doing has a great deal of exposed flute parts, and I have to come to terms with how "sax-player-playing flute" I now sound. I was wondering if you have any thoughts or observations on saxophone/reed players picking up the flute.” - Tim

Over the years there have been many times when I needed to dust off the reeded beasts and find ways to make myself presentable again. Usually I would play them only once a year, so there were always cobwebs to be removed. Of course, every time I pulled the ignored instruments out of the closet I had to face the fact that I sounded exactly like I was: a Woodwind Imposter.

No one wants to be an imposter, so how do we remedy this issue?

What I’ve found that works best for me is to start each instrument completely independent of all others - I try to approach each instrument as if it’s the only instrument I play. When I’m playing sax I’m a saxophone player, not a flute player trying to work on my doubles. If I practice sax as if it’s my only instrument I’m suddenly able to really focus on issues that are sax-specific, and I make much more progress.

I also make sure that when I am practicing more than one instrument a day I give myself a large enough break between instruments so that the lips can recover or reset (this is particularly true when transitioning from reed to flute). As skill level increases (or performance date approaches!), the time between instruments can be reduced. Because of reed-induced lip trauma, I think it’s always best to start the day with flute (of course, I’m a tad biased). The vibrations from the reed cause the lips to swell and tingle, which can make switching to flute very hard at first.

Even though I am a degree-holding flutist, I *still* have to deal with the fact that if I'm playing a lot of sax or clarinet and then switch to flute, my flute tone will suffer in the short term. While simple daily practice makes switching between flute and reeds easier, here are some other tips that I’ve found get me back into flute-mode:

- During breaks between reeds and flute I buzz my lips - but not like a brass player. Instead, use a  “Bbbbbb” or “Ppppppp.” Keep the lips relaxed and floppy (just pretend you're a five-year-old). I’m not sure why this helps, but it does. Be careful not to overdo it, just a couple times for a few seconds each time.

- Playing a couple high notes on the flute can help as well. When the lips have the post-reed tingle, it can feel like you’re forming a small aperture when in reality the aperture is incredibly broad and, frankly, useless. If you have a piccolo available to play some notes on, it can also really help.

- Also, and I realize that this may not be an issue for sax-primary players, I've found that if I'm playing sax improperly, switching to flute will be much harder. I have to remember to support my airstream from my abdomen and also let the larger facial muscles do some of the work on the saxophone. Otherwise, I'll find myself biting the mouthpiece and really straining my lips, which all but eliminates the chance for me to get the focused, resonant sound I want on the flute.

I also like to use a very simple, all-purpose warm-up that I can easily transfer from instrument to instrument:

What I like about this one is that it's not too easy, not so hard I hate myself for even trying, and it covers a good range without being terribly long. I usually start on a fingered G with flute and saxes, and on clarinet I start the same pattern on a fingered middle C. From this starting point I can easily transpose it up or down chromatically, but sometimes I go around the circle of fourths or fifths instead. I also switch up articulations, dynamics, and often play these with a drone for intonation.

Here's one final idea for getting used to switching instruments quickly. After a normal flute warm-up, grab the sax (or any reed) and play for maybe 5 seconds, maybe even just one note. Put the reed down and go back to flute. Take note of any changes to your flute sound, and try to fix them as you continue practicing. Keep doing this, but gradually increase the time spent playing sax (30 seconds, a minute or two, five minutes). You're almost guaranteed to sound different after playing sax than you did before, but by interrupting your flute playing with ever-increasing amounts of reed playing you'll figure out what you need to do to still perform, and isn't that the end goal?

Thoughts on Doubling

I actually don't mind doubling that much, it can be a nice change of pace, plus, show tunes are just so much fun! It's been great exploring these instruments again, especially since I've been really aiming to build a foundation on both instruments, not just patch the holes just enough that I can survive the gig.

It can be incredibly frustrating to go from one instrument where one can play musically in all twelve keys, with good technique and sound to one where creating a sound is challenge enough, let alone when playing in F# major! However, having the chance to start fresh, begin at "Square 1" again with the knowledge gained from 15 years of musical training and experience is really great. I'm able to progress fairly quickly, even when practice time is slim or irregular, because I know now what I should be aiming for (unlike when I was in the 5th grade).

Doubling is not without issue, though. The resistance that clarinet/sax have is something that I'm not used to facing with the flute, which adds to endurance issues caused by the use of different muscles. It's about more than just playing the instrument though.

An added challenge for this gig specifically is the jazz element. Last time I played jazz, I was in seventh grade - and was playing the Trombone 4 part on contralto clarinet. Yes, that's correct. Contralto clarinet. Jazz. 12 years ago. I've been doing a lot of listening to various jazz groups and styles, and looking up jazz notations and learning how to perform them in a representative manner. I'm not looking to be an amazing jazz cat (or whatever those guys refer to themselves as [See?! I'm clueless!]), I'm just trying to do them respect by my performance.

One major downside to doubling is the amount of "tools" you need to get the job done. For this gig alone, I need 5 instruments - piccolo, flute, clarinet, soprano sax, and alto sax. Thankfully I already own four of those, but I didn't have good reeds for clarinet and alto ($$). I didn't have a triple stand to hold the clarinet and saxes ($$$), I don't own a soprano mouthpiece, reeds, or ligature ($$$) or a soprano sax for that matter ($$$$$$$$$)!

Upfront financial investment is never fun, and this is particularly true when you're poor. I tried to find a soprano sax to rent, but the people who would rent one to me didn't have one available to rent and the people who had one available to rent couldn't (or just wouldn't) rent it to me, even though they had it and I was willing to pay for the time I would have the instrument. At this point, buying the instrument is not an option for me, so I'm just going to have to play the soprano parts on clarinet in the most "saxy" way possible.

As flutists, we're super-spoiled. We buy our instrument, a nice headjoint, and we're done. Not so with reeded instruments - reeds suck. In order to play well, you must first sound like crap while a new reed breaks in. Then you have to do it at least one more time so that if a reed gets broken during a performance, you're not totally screwed. Then do it all again for each reed instrument you're playing. Oh yeah, did I mention that some of the reeds you paid money for won't be good enough for you to actually play one, so you have to throw them away. I must say though, when it actually turns out to be the reed causing a problem, it makes me feel much better about myself. ;)

I'm going to get back to some nice Saturday doubling practice, I've got a couple more reeds to break in!